INVC-Investigation of the water vapor channel within the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, China 

Abstract

<p>The Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon (YGC) is an important pathway for water vapor transport from south Asia to the Tibetan Plateau (TP). This area exhibits one of the highest frequencies of convective activity in China, and precipitation often brings natural disasters to local communities that can dramatically affect their livelihoods. In addition, the produced precipitation has produced vast glaciers and large rivers around the YGC. In 2018, the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Programme tasked a research team to conduct an "Investigation of the water vapor channel of the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon" in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. This team subsequently established a three-dimensional comprehensive observation system of land-air interaction, water vapor transport, cloud cover, and rainfall activity in the YGC. This paper introduces the developed observation system and summarizes preliminary results obtained during the first two years of the project. Using this observation network, we focus herein on the development of heavy rainfall events in southeast Tibet that are associated with water vapor transported from the south. This project also helps to monitor geohazards in the key area of the Sichuan-Tibet railway that traverses the northern YGC.</p>